Of course I Care
by BeccaPotter1
Summary: Sequal to I remember. Arthur finally has that chat he wanted with Merlin, and gets more than he bargined for when he tells Merlin the truth.  NO SLASH!


**Of Course I Care**

It had been a week since Arthur had seen Merlin at the lake, and now he wanted answers.

'Merlin, go prepare the horses. We're going out for a ride.' Arthur said as Merlin walked into his room carrying his breakfast. Merlin did as he was told, and when Arthur got down to the stables he saw Merlin stood next to the two horses with his head against one of its shoulders.

'Where are we going?' Merlin asked, worried.

'I don't know. Where ever we go, just out for a ride.' Arthur climbed onto his horse and rode away leaving a very confused Merlin to catch up. 'We'll stop here,' Arthur said at around lunch time and he climbed of his horse, knowing very well that they were near the lake.

'What for sire?' Merlin's voice shook slightly and Arthur could sense the sadness around Merlin.

'To talk,' Arthur said simply. He just wanted to talk. 'Merlin, what happened just over a year ago that got you so upset?' Arthur sat down resting against a tree.

'It doesn't matter Arthur. That was then, it's over now.' Arthur could tell the weight of the previous week was gaining back on him.

'Merlin, I know something happened, and you're not going to hide it from me! Who was it that I dealt a mortal wound to?'

Merlin stayed silent looking at his feet, not wanting to talk about what Arthur wanted to.

'Fine, if you're not going to answer Merlin, then we shall go to the lake shall we!' Arthur's voice was soft, but Merlin could tell he wanted answers.

'The druid girl that was cursed,' Merlin whispered, hoping Arthur wouldn't hear, but he knew it was useless. Arthur was too stubborn.

'Merlin, tell me what happened, from the start. Include your magic!'

Merlin's head snapped up, 'you know?' His voice was full of worry as he looked at Arthur.

'Yes Merlin, I know. I heard everything you said down here one week ago, and you know it.' Merlin looked down, defeated.

'Where from? When I came to Camelot, or the druid girl?' He really didn't want to talk about it now, but he had no choice.

'Everything Merlin; from your first step in Camelot to today.'

'There's too much to tell you everything, but I'll tell you some of it.' Merlin sighed. 'It started when I first met you, do you remember?' When Arthur nodded Merlin went on. 'Well, during our fight in the market, I used magic so that I won. I remember Gaius telling me off afterwards because apparently magic is supposed to take years to study, but I was born with it. I remember saying to him that if I couldn't use magic I might as well die, because I couldn't control it back then. Then, I went down to see The Great Dragon, and he told me it was my destiny to protect you until you became king. I thought he was joking at the time because you were an arrogant prat, then he told me it was my job to change that, so since then I've been saving your royal backside every other day!'

'When have you ever saved my life Merlin?' Arthur asked amused.

'Well, there was Lady Helen, the snakes on valiant's shields, the afanc in the water, the light in the cave, I helped Lancelot kill the Griffin, I saved both Gaius and your father when that guy, Edwin Murden, tried to kill them, I brought you back when that Sofia person enchanted you and then tried to drown you in this very lake, I created Excalibur for you, which is still in this lake because your father used it and it was forged for you, and you alone. Then there was the wind in Ealdor, that was me, not Will, I discovered a plot to kill the king by Morgana because Uther had killed Tom, Gwen's dad. Then, when you were bitten by the questing beast, I went to the Isle of the Blessed and bargained my life to save your, then Nimueh who I met there tried to take my mothers life, then Gaius went there because he expected me to exchange my life for my mothers, so when I returned there, I exchanged my life for Gaius's, and eventually killed Nimueh for it.' Merlin paused for a break, but before Arthur could interrupt he went on. 'Then, when Cedric tried to take over from me, I cornered him as Sigan and trapped his soul back into that jewel, I stopped Myror killing you during the jousting competition, and I told you about your step mother being a troll! I stopped you killing your father after Morgause showed you your mother in a vision; and I worked out, with a bit of help, how to stop you loving Lady Vivian.' Merlin stopped. He didn't want to mention about the dragon or poisoning Morgana.

'And what about this druid girl you were talking about?' Arthur asked looking at Merlin in awe.

'Freya,' Merlin's voice was soft, 'the druid girl that the bounty hunter brought. She turned into a monster at midnight because she was cursed by a witch. I don't like to talk about it though. It happened over a year ago now.' Arthur let the topic drop, for now anyway.

'You still haven't told me about the dragon escaping and the time when the knights rode to Camelot with Morgause in front.'

'There's a reason for that Arthur! I didn't want to! When the knights of Medhir came to Camelot I knew that there was an enchantment, an evil one at that. I went down to the dragon because I knew he would know what to do, and then I found we had to kill the source of the enchantment,' Merlin paused, but again Merlin stopped him commenting. 'You may have guessed it, the source of the enchantment was Morgana, and I had to kill her! She's not dead though, she's with her half-sister, Morgause, somewhere. Do I have to tell you about the dragon?' He asked, sorrowful.

'Yes Merlin, I want to know!'

'Then you will not interfere, however much you want to kill me, you must listen first. When I asked the Great Dragon about how to get rid of the knights he said he wouldn't tell me unless I gave him a promise. Only this was more like an oath. When I asked about how to kill Sigan he made me promise that one day, I would free him, but when the knights came, he didn't trust me, so I had to swear to him, and I swore on my mothers' life. It was the only oath he knew I wouldn't break, so then I went through with it. I had no idea he would attack Camelot – well, I wanted to believe he wouldn't. Then when we got sent to find Balinor,' Merlin paused for a second. 'When we got sent to find Balinor, Gaius told me about how my mother took him in when Gaius helped him escape. Balinor was my father, I am now the last Dragonlord, and then, when he died in my arms, I knew I had to do something, but I'd tried to go up against Kilgarrah before and my magic failed me. It was only when Gaius saw me in my room that he told me I had only just gained the Dragonlord power, because my father had died; and because he was the last of his kind, when you were knocked out, I sent him away and told him if he attacks Camelot again I'd kill him. He still lives somewhere far away.' Merlin looked at Arthur who was gaping at him. Then his anger came to him.

'You let him escape after all the damage he did! Are you mad?' Arthur was furious and Merlin could tell.

'It's no worse than Uther did to him. Uther killed his kind; he was going to want revenge on him.' Merlin looked down, ashamed at having shouted to the crown prince. 'Why would you care anyway Arthur, I'm just your servant.'

'You're more than that Merlin, I promise you I will keep your secrets hidden because you're my friend, so of course I care!' Arthur said before getting up. 'Would you like some time alone?'

'No, lets just head back to Camelot.' Merlin said, a small smile playing on his lips as he thought about Arthur's words.

It was nice to know he cares.

**AN Hope you enjoy this **** I enjoyed writing it. Please review**

**AlbusProngsRebeccaPotter**


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